Mary Copeland is a former professional dancer and has been teaching ballet, jazz, creative movement and fitness to adults and children for over 30 years. She currently teaches at 92nd Street Y’s Harkness Dance Center and May Center and in the Himan Brown Senior Program. She also provides in-home personal training.
As a dancer, Mary performed with the Columbus Civic Ballet, where she was partnered with Patrick Bissell; the New Jersey Classic Ballet; and Danny Buraczeski's Jazzdance Company. She has worked as a teaching artist in the NYC public schools and has choreographed musical theater productions for the Children's Opera Company of Ossining as well as for community theaters in NYC. Mary is a Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) facilitator. She completed the 92Y Wonderdance™ Teacher Training program for early childhood dance education and is a Wonderdance teacher and curriculum writer.
As a fitness instructor, Mary holds a Group Fitness Certification from the American Council on Exercise and a Pilates Mat Certification from Pilates Institute of America. Her teaching background includes four years as an in-studio Pilates trainer, 14 years with Peggy Levine Fitness (pre- and postnatal, aerobics, and strength training), and 10 years with the Silver Sneakers program (senior fitness) as an instructor coordinator responsible for assessing and training staff and teaching group SS classes. Mary worked at the Riverdale YM-YWHA for seven years, running a dance program and designing and teaching fitness classes, such as Functional Strength Training and Stretch/Alignment. She studied anatomy/kinesiology with Irene Dowd and MELT with Edya Kalev.